Hopkins to address premature births with grant money

Johns Hopkins will use a $2 million federal grant to look for new ways to prevent premature births.

The Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics at the Johns Hopkins University School was among 27 hospitals nationwide awarded a grant by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services’ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

The grants are part of a $41.4 million, four-year initiative called the Strong Start for Mothers and Newborns.

“This initiative will help us find new ways to reduce the rate of preterm births, improve the health outcomes of pregnant women and newborns and decrease the anticipated total cost of medical care during pregnancy and delivery and over the first year of life for children,” Dr. Andrew J. Satin, director of the Hopkins gyn/ob department and chair of the Medical Board at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, said in a statement.

About 13 percent of babies are born premature in Maryland each year. Preterm birth iw when babies are born less than 37 weeks gestational age and is when infants’ brains and lungs are at a critical stage of development.